Charlie Simpson: Long Road Home album review

"The making of this album has been an incredible journey for me, it is probably the hardest record I have ever had to make," Charlie Simpson said of his second solo LP Long Road Home. One particular stumbling block in the recording process was writer's block, which wasn't helped by the lack of collaborator to bounce ideas off. "It just became a little too much I think, and I just had to stop," he told us last month.

In that single self-confessed issue, and the one most feared by creatives, Simpson neatly summarises the stigma that silently lurks behind his solo efforts. To both genuine fans and the everyday indifferent he's considered first and foremost a 'band man'; the original face of Busted and then frontman of alternative band Fightstar.

Nevertheless, Simpson has stared into the face of a McBusted supergroup fusion and stayed true to his own agenda. Long Road Home presents itself as an illustrious tapestry of its maker's influences; a collection of songs that wear the marks of their making not deceptively, but proudly. Simpson's clear passion and skill for crafting accessible and hook-friendly songs courses through the main vein of the record. The near falsetto vocals on tracks like 'Emily' mirrors the light indie folk of Bon Iver, whereas the jangling "Hey!"s and lyrical nods to "heavy hearts" in 'Comets' make for a wholly more Mumford & Sons-sounding effort.

"It's such a long road home and you can't just make it alone," Simpson sings in title track 'Long Road Home'. 'Charlie from Busted' or 'Charlie from Fightstar' has proven that he's worth more than the sum of a band. He is Charlie Simpson, capable of making it alone even if it does come with its challenges. Long Road Home might not be a game-changer in the overarching scheme of music, but it's a personal triumph for Simpson and an impressive collection of his thoughts and influences.